In 2009, Todd Bol of Hudson, Wisconsin, built a model of a one room schoolhouse as a tribute to his mother, a former school teacher who loved to read. He filled it with books and put it on a post in his front yard. His neighbors and friends loved it. He built several more and gave them away. Each one had a sign that said simply FREE BOOKS. The mission is to promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide and to build a sense of community as people share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations. The original goal was to build 2,510 Little Free Libraries, as many as Andrew Carnegie, and keep going. As of January 1, 2014, there were believed to be between 10,000 and 12,000 Little Free Libraries.